The psychodynamic approach to leadership is central to truly knowing one’s own self. The leader needs to know who they are from the inside out. This includes knowing how their emotions will impact their judgement and subsequent behavior. As much as the psychodynamic approach involves knowing one’s self, it also includes knowing the same characteristics about their subordinates. This approach focuses on the unconscious responses based on their primordial individualistic traits (PSU WC L3, 2019).
Essentially, the psychodynamic approach to leadership says we are who we are because of how we were raised. There are five key topics covered in the psychodynamic approach: “family of origin, maturation or individuation, dependence and independence, regression and the shadow self, and archetypes” (PSU WC L3, 2019, p.3).
Northouse (2016) summarizes leadership as being about human behavior. The way we compose ourselves or react to situations is largely dependent upon the way in which we were raised. For example, in my household I was exposed to people who yelled a lot. My grandparents yelled back and forth at one another, my mother yelled about every little thing, and my brother and I yelled at one another about everything. As a result, I grew up yelling to make a point and I didn’t even realize I was doing anything wrong. It took me a long time to realize that my family displayed abnormal communication.
The realization I came to in my mid-thirties (I’m a late bloomer) was that I didn’t need to scream and yell to make a point when talking with my family. Not every discussion had to be a match where we pitted our opinions against one another. Rather, as I was exposed to more of the real world I realized I could talk and be heard. I likely learned this from watching other role models in my life like the people I worked with. I started working at a university just out of high school so I was surrounded faculty and their influence very much changed who I was. Northouse (2016) quotes what McDougall (1985) called the “inner theatre” (p. 301). In my life, my inner theatre was my crazy family. Later in life my theatre changed to include the people I worked with.
While I was maturing and gaining independence, I was becoming an individual and realized I didn’t have to be like my family. I could be whomever I chose to be. So what does all of this have to do with leadership? Simply put, I would not be a good leader if all did was bark orders and yell at my staff. No one wants to work for someone who is so emotionally unstable. That said, I know where I came from and I know who I came from. Because I can see a distinct difference between the way I was raised and the way I would have liked to have been raised, I can make a conscious effort to be the way I want to be.
“Development of insight is a lifelong endeavor” (PSU WC, L3, p. 11). I really wish I knew who wrote those words because they are so incredibly true. As humans we are gifted with the ability to continuously learn throughout our entire lives. For me I can compare where I am to where I started. I can consciously separate the way I feel about certain things with the actual non-emotional side of the actions of others. Having the ability to do this leads me to get to know the people I lead as well. If I gain insight into how others perceive the world, it will only stand to help me more effectively communicate with them. This leads me to believe the psychodynamic approach is useful for effective leadership.
Just like I grew up in one situation, everyone else grew up in theirs. What motivates one person is very different from what motivates someone else. Having the ability to motivate and influence others is what leadership is all about (Northouse, 2016). In order to effectively motivate and influence someone, we have to know what makes that person tick. For me, I’m constantly striving for more. I want more money, more education, more responsibility, more, more, and more. For the people on my staff, many of them are nearing retirement and are very happy to leave our organization having done the same job, every single day, for twenty years. Some of my staff are still in the same position they started in so many years ago. They are happy with the status quo. It’s not because we don’t encourage personal growth as an organization, because we really do. It’s just that these people choose to be happy with what they have.
Knowing that some people are happy with the status quo is very helpful in knowing how to lead them. They don’t want to be challenged and they can’t handle anything more than their basic job functions. For those people, I know not to include them on special projects that requires them to do anything extra. And that’s okay. I have other staff who want to be included in the new stuff and they want to be challenged. Those are the people I drag along with me to continue our lifelong journey of developing insight.
References
McDougall, J. (1985). Theaters of the mind. New York: Basic Books.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2019). PSYCH 485 Lesson 3: Psychodynamic approach. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2008237/modules/items/27074619
Shanice Velez says
Jennifer,
I enjoyed reading your post and how you influenced it to Psychodynamic approach. Not only did it bring insight into my own family dysfunctions but also into my work environment as well. “Learned patterns of family dynamics influence our feelings about leadership” (PSU WC L3, 2019, p. 2).
In my household we also tend to yell a lot, especially my mom every response from her is resulted in a yell or very aggressive manner. When I was younger this is something that’s always been kind of the norm in my family. Everyone brushed it off with a joke that most puerto ricans are naturally loud and aggressive. So growing up, I never really thought about the in adverse affects that this can cause not only in the workplace but within my future family that I intend to one day have. It wasn’t until I was older like yourself that I started leading a team in my workplace that I had to have the same realization that ” may be I need to speak in a less aggressive manner in order to get better feedback from my team”. The shadow self is the negative aspects about oneself and is often hidden to the person upon self-examination according to the psychodynamic approach (Feist & Feist, 2009). An individual’s shadow is the part of the personality that is unacceptable, so the person denies its existence (PSU WC L3, 2019, p. 6). It takes a very strong individual to learn about themself and know when their actions are not acceptable to the better of not only themself but to others as well. In order to have a successful team of followers and staff one should always be open to change. Change is important because not one individual is the same, sometimes we will need to alter our personalities and insights depending on who exactly we were speaking to. Good communicators can inspire others at all levels. Communicators are very effective in building alliances and enlisting the support of other people. However, when the communication is not there and issues tend to get swept under the rug this can mean that the leader may need other leaders such as strategists and processors to get the point across (Northhouse,2016,pg.322). It is okay to know when you need help and to seek that help from someone else. That is something I have tried to do with my leadership team. Sometimes communicating isn’t my best attribute. So I have leaned on my management team to help provide the necessary feedback I need to tackle my negative attributes. The first step to change is to accept there is a problem. Which I know now is something I have developed as a product of my environment. Now my next step is to continue finding ways for me to change this.
Thank you Jennifer for your thoughtful and insightful post!
References
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2019). PSYCH 485 Lesson 3: Introduction to Psychodynamic Approach. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/canvas/fa19/21981–15196/content/03_lesson/printlesson.html
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice (7th ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Jamie Miller says
Jennifer,
As I read through your blog post, I found my self wondering if you fell back into the known pattern of yelling when you interacted with your family. I know you stated that you had the realization that you did not need to, but family dynamics can often bring about passion and emotions that you may otherwise be able to control, and the result is old patterns of yelling. I wanted to understand better the psychodynamic approach and the five key topics you mention in your post.
My searching leads me to want to understand how psychodynamic approach related to emotional regulation and mindfulness. Most of the articles I read surrounding mindfulness spoke of meditation, stress programs, Buddhism, etc. However, I was more interested in how mindfulness contributed to emotional regulation and what that regulation entailed. The first step is understanding emotional regulation. Emotional regulations are conscious and non-conscious techniques used to maintain one or more parts of your emotional response (Guendelman, Medeiros and Rampes, 2017). John Gross (as cited by Guendelman, Medeiros and Rampes, 2017) developed a process for emotion regulation which categorized emotions into five stages: “selecting a situation, modifying a situation, deployment of attention, changing cognition and modulating the experience, behavior or response.”
In looking at these five stages and comparing them to your story, your realization regarding your upbringing and yelling to me falls into modifying the situation and changing the behavior. So, you were able to apply emotional regulation which cultivates mindfulness and increased mental health. Also, if we review the clinical paradigm framework explained by Northouse (2016 p.296-297), the second and third premises outlined state that a large portion of your mental life is outside of conscious awareness and there is nothing more central than how emotions are expressed and regulated. So, taking this all into account, if we can learn to identify patterns that impact our mental health and emotions, recognize that we can change how we react to these patterns, and apply revised patterns to future circumstances.
Thank you for providing a thought invoking blog.
Jamie
References:
Guendelman, S., Medeiros, S., & Rampes, H. (2017). Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation: Insights from Neurobiological, Psychological, and Clinical Studies. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 220. DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00220
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Chapter 12: Psychodynamic approach. In Leadership: Theory and practice (pp. 296-297). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.
Fredric Holfoth says
Jennifer,
I found your blog post very insightful and appreciate you sharing your personal experiences and how they relate to the psychodynamic approach. Transactional analysis is studying how people interact with each other from a psychodynamic perspective (PSU WC L3, 2019, p. 8). Essentially, leaders can elicit reaction from followers and followers can also elicit reactions from leaders, so it is important to look at the behavior of both. I’m am not sure of your family dynamic now, but you mentioned when you reached your mid-thirty’s that you realized you did not have to scream and yell when making a point while communicating with your family. I was wondering if the change in the way you communicated with your family (as a child or follower I suppose) had an impact on how they communicated with you?
I had an opposite, but similar in concept, situation when I was growing up. My family communicated well about the everyday things that needed to be said to get through the day, but if there was controversy and disagreement about an issue, it was just brushed under the rug. Discussions about topics or issues that caused stress or anxiety were avoided at all costs, no screaming or yelling, just change the subject and get on with your day. I was thrown into a supervisory roll within one year of starting my new job out of college. This type of upbringing effected how I managed my team early in my career. I avoided discussing difficult issues, such as, tardiness, performance issues, and insubordination with my staff to avoid conflict. I would joke about or make a off-hand remarks to try to make my point, as opposed to addressing the issue directly. This was clearly not the best approach and did not show effective leadership skills.
I eventually, through experience, continuing education, and some mentoring, improved my communication methods and learned more effective ways to discuss difficult topics. This process took time, some self-reflection, and self-evaluation to understand better how I react in certain situations. This awareness was needed to identify the areas of self-improvement and growth required to be a better communicator. This has helped me to be more successful as a leader, but I also feel that I communicate better with my family as well. I often find that when I just come out and start the discussion about a potentially “touchy” subject that my family members open-up as well.
I believe my example, like yours, also supports the premise of this approach, that insight into one’s psychological past will affect their attitude and behaviors, and that understanding these concepts will result in more effective leadership performance (PSU WC L3, 2019, p. 11). Thanks again for sharing your experience and how it relates to the psychodynamic approach.
Fredric (Rick) Holfoth
References:
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Simon Swengler says
Jennifer,
I found your blog entry rather appealing because it included the type of self-reflections I often have regarding who I am and why I behave the way I do in certain situations. I certainly agree with your assessment on the psychodynamic approach to leadership and your thoughts on its value. I’m often left thinking about how my childhood experiences shaped who I am in ways which I may not be consciously aware, particularly when it comes to interacting with other people. As you also indicated, the ideas and thoughts presented by the psychodynamic approach also lends itself to followers as well. This is obvious because in all hierarchal structured medium and large sized organizations, leaders exist at many levels. In other words, in most cases leaders are also followers, which is why it can and should be applicable to both.
Expanding the idea the psychodynamic approach to leadership is about knowing one’s self and knowing their subordinates, it appears to also contribute to the ideas presented by emotional intelligence. “The psychodynamic approach focuses on learned and deep emotional responses. These responses are not conscious” (PSU WC, 2019, L. 3, p. 2). This is likely because according to the third premise of the Clinical Paradigm to which psychodynamics is applied, “nothing is more central to whom a person is than the way he or she regulates and expresses emotions” (Northouse, 2016, p. 297). Returning to the personal experience you described in your post, you displayed a high level of emotional intelligence with regards to your self-realization on how your tendency to communicate by yelling would express emotional instability that would negatively affect your relationship with your subordinates. Using the psychodynamic approach, you discovered from where this tendency stemmed and therefore can more effectively manage it, overall enhancing your leadership abilities. With this new insight on your behavioral and emotional responses, you can now be cognizant of your susceptibility to revert back to yelling when dealing with stressful situations. This is where an understanding of psychoanalytical concepts can be beneficial. “In stressful or unusual situations it can be noticed that even trained leaders fall back into ‘old’ patterns of behavior. This phenomenon is called regression and means the return to the basic patterns of behavior ‘learned’ in childhood and adolescence” (Winkler, 2009, p. 25). Additionally, you can also learn much about your subordinates by observing changes in behavior when they experience stressful situations. As we can clearly see, the psychodynamic approach to leadership can enhance our emotional intelligence.
Thank you for your post. It’s given me some thoughts on which to reflect.
Simon
References
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2019). PSYCH 485 Lesson 3: Introduction to Psychodynamic Approach. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/canvas/fa19/21981–15196/content/03_lesson/printlesson.html
Winkler, I. (2009). Contemporary leadership theories: Enhancing the understanding of the complexity, subjectivity and dynamic of leadership. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.